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Great Minds on Small Things

The Philosophers' Guide to Everyday Life

Matthew Qvortrup , Illus. Taaryn Brench
When they were not thinking about deep questions of metaphysics and the meaning of life, history’s most renowned thinkers turned their intellects to relatively frivolous matters. Qvortrup has produced a light-hearted compendium of their less highbrow wisdom, including Laozi’s dislike of roads, Aristotle’s advice for curing hiccups, Hannah Arendt’s views on laughter and Wittgenstein’s reflections on the artichoke.
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RRP £12.99

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Product information:
  • Publisher: Duckworth
  • Year: 2023
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 222pp
  • Illustrated: Yes
  • Dimensions: 203x137mm
  • ISBN: 9780715654965
  • Condition: New
  • Weight: 0.3kg
Product code:
538171
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Full publisher description
Three centuries ago, Voltaire published his Dictionnaire philosophique, taking in such idiosyncratic topics as adultery, mountains, nakedness, and others besides. In 1957, another French philosopher of more recent vintage, Roland Barthes, mused in his Mythologies on the masculine pursuits of wrestling, striptease and the Citroen DS. Since the dawn of philosophy, the world's great thinkers have been unable to resist the lure of applying their formidable brains not only to the meaning of life, but also to the meaning of coffee, trapped wind or efficient boiler installation.



Now, from Wollstonecraft to Wittgenstein, Laozi to Locke, Aristotle to Arendt, Great Minds on Small Things brings together their varied observations, alongside delightful black and white illustrations, in a highly entertaining and eye-opening miscellany that is guaranteed to make life's mundanities suddenly seem a lot more highbrow.
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